Above
all, Gallocanta lagoon is a stopover
for birds which fly from Northern European breeding
grounds to places in the South of Spain and North Africa
where they spend the winter. Bit there are also birds
for whom it is a winter destination or a nesting ground
in the summer months.

These birds come from very different places (from
France and the Netherlands, as well as Iceland, the
Nordic countries and even as far away as Siberia).
This diversity is also to be found in the variety
of species which take part in this annual ritual.

Towards the end of winter and the beginning of spring,
the birds begin their journey back north towards their
nesting grounds. Whereas from the summer to the beginning
of winter the birds invert their route southwards
towards their winter havens where they will spend
the colder winter months.

Not all species have the same “migration calendar”
or come to the lagoon in the same numbers. The most
abundant species are the anatidae and the cranes
above all.

From October to March (with the exception of January)
Gallocanta lagoon is a delight to the eyes and the
ears. Over 40,000 cranes come to this wetland in large
flocks, with their screeches and flapping of wings.
An amazing spectacle at dawn and at sunset when their
silhouettes dot the sky as they return to their roosts.